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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25372186">letters written with butterflies in your stomach</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/querxes/pseuds/querxes'>querxes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>letters [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Period-Typical Homophobia, Secret Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:01:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,502</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25372186</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/querxes/pseuds/querxes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The year is 1900, and Jack has a question for Davey.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>David Jacobs/Jack Kelly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>letters [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837273</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>letters written with butterflies in your stomach</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Enjoy the last bit of fluff I will ever give you.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Mm, Jack? What are you doing here, it’s—”</p>
<p>“What, it’s early? Oh, come off it, Jacobs. Where’s your sense of adventure?”</p>
<p>“It’s—”</p>
<p>“It’s important that you come with me, I have something to show you,” Jack’s voice dropped from a murmur into a light whisper. Davey looked over to Sarah and Les, who continued to sleep through the entire interaction. He groaned quietly, sliding his arm out from underneath Les as gently as possible. </p>
<p>Jack cheered quietly. As David rubbed his eyes and forced himself awake, Jack rummaged through the siblings’ shared dresser. “Put this on,” he whispered, tossing Davey a sleeveless undershirt and a pair of trousers, tossing the suspenders over his own shoulders and waiting patiently.</p>
<p>“I hope you didn’t mess up all my stacked clothes,” Davey complained quietly, slipping out of his pyjamas and drowsily pulling the undershirt over his head, barely taking the time to slip on the trousers. He fumbled with the button and tucked in the undershirt, and Jack crossed over to him to help him put his suspenders on.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t do that to you, baby. Don’t worry about a shirt, it’s a warm morning out. We won’t be out like this very long anyway,” Jack promised. He was dressed similarly to Davey, with the only exception being the shirt tied around his waist and the vest slung open over his shoulders carelessly. He clutched onto his bag quite protectively, however, as if worrying that it would slide off when he was distracted. “Got your socks, too,” Jack muttered, tossing them to Davey when he sat in the very corner of the bed, careful not to disturb Les.</p>
<p>Davey rolled his eyes as he slipped on his socks. “What are we even doing?” He asked, putting his shoes on when Jack kicked them in front of him. “Hey, be quiet!”</p>
<p>It was Jack’s turn to roll his eyes. “Oh, hush, it’ll be ruined if I tell you. Hurry up!” Jack rushed, letting his hands flutter by his sides excitedly. Davey sleepily went to grab his cap, but Jack took it from his hands and threw it onto the bed. Davey glared without animosity, but let Jack take his hands and lead him out onto the fire escape anyway.</p>
<p>They climbed higher and higher, until finally they had reached the roof of Davey’s tenement. </p>
<p>“Alright, it smells like garbage out here,” Davey acknowledged, crinkling his nose up in slight disgust. “Pa’s gonna see that I’m missing when he wakes us up.”</p>
<p>“Mayer knows it’ll be me,” Jack brushed off. “He loves me, so he won’t be mad.”</p>
<p>“Okay, that’s true,” Davey conceded. Jack brought them over to the east side of the building, as close as they could get to the edge. They sat down criss-cross next to each other, and Jack pulled Davey’s hand into his lap, fiddling with it as they kept their eyes on the sky.</p>
<p>“You’re taking me out to see the sunrise?” Davey asked, a smile flickering on his face.</p>
<p>“Well, yeah,” Jack allowed, but he hesitated. Davey heard the slight catch in his throat and turned to look at him. The sky lightened just enough to be able to see each other’s faces.</p>
<p>“Jack?” Davey asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern. His hand froze in Jack’s lap. </p>
<p>Jack cleared his throat, not meeting Davey’s eyes. “Uh, we’re both eighteen now,” he started, fidgeting with the fingers even more so. “And, well, I’m gonna have to stop selling soon. Kloppmann’s givin’ me a bit more time than he should, and I’ve been thinkin’ about the future a lot lately.”</p>
<p>He took a shuddering breath, face paling and palms pooling in sweat. He started playing with Davey’s ring finger, and this time it was Davey’s turn to stutter on the breath in his chest.</p>
<p><em> “Jack,” </em>Davey breathed out. “Jackie—”</p>
<p>Jack cut him off. “Look, I know we’re still young, really young, but I can’t imagine wanting to be with anyone else when I could be with you forever,” his voice shook. “It’s gonna be hard. Really hard, and we’ll never be able to do anything officially, not now, and I couldn’t afford a ring to give you, but—” Jack dropped Davey’s hand gently into his lap again, and he reached into his bag. What he pulled out made Davey’s heart stop in his chest.</p>
<p>It was a portrait of Davey dressed in his white shirt and black trousers, and he was looking down with soft eyes down at his hands, specifically his ring finger, which sparkled under the light with a beautiful, simplistic gold metal band. He looked serene, completely at peace as he gazed down upon it. In his other hand, he held another ring in the center of his palm. It was the same sparkling gold, and he held it with the greatest care, outstretched in front of him to the painter. It was painted on a small canvas, delicately intricate and private and something for the two of them to look upon only.</p>
<p>Jack adjusted so he was kneeling down in front of him, portrait in hand. “David Jacobs, will you marry me?”</p>
<p>David sat in shock, speechless. The only thing he could think of to say was, “Have you asked my parents?”</p>
<p>Jack laughed, letting out a burst of nervous energy. “Yeah, I did,” he said, “and they told me to be careful with you, but I’ve got their blessing. Is that a yes?”</p>
<p>“Yes! God, yes, Jack!” He shot forward, pulling Jack into a searing kiss, his wide smile breaking it apart seconds later. Jack fumbled to put the portrait down on the roof, freeing his arms to gravitate around Davey.</p>
<p>They separated, pressing their foreheads into each other’s, laughing giddily in their private little moment, and they turned just in time to see the sun rise over the city.</p>
<p>“Did you plan this?” Davey asked, gazing with wide, dark eyes to the sunrise, and he sank down and let Jack sit on his hip. Their arms were clasped tight around each other’s shoulders, clinging to each other like nothing could take the other away.</p>
<p>“In theory, yeah, but I wasn’t exactly sure when the sun was gonna rise. I guess I just got lucky,” but Jack wasn’t looking at the sun anymore. He met Davey’s eyes again, sparkling with tears of joy and excitement.</p>
<p>“I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Davey vowed. </p>
<p>“Me too, Davey,” Jack laughed breathlessly, drawing him in for another long kiss under the first rays of the sun.</p>
<p>That night, Davey sat down at the kitchen table, too late for it to be normal, and he pulled out their precious supply of paper and a pencil, trying to find the words to describe the lightness in his chest.</p>
<p>
  <em> 18 July 1900 </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Francis, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Y</em>
  <em>ou are amazing, truly. Words cannot describe how it feels to see this day. Getting proposed to was never in my plans, not in my eighteen years of existing. But I’m finding with you, anything is possible. There is an amazing chance that we have here. We have a good thing, and I will do whatever it takes to keep it. We will have everything. We will have a home together with a good chance of no questioning so early on in our lives. We will have that, and it will be ours. God, even that just sounds so amazing to me. </em>
</p>
<p><em> This is not to say that times won’t get hard, because of course they will, but we have a chance. A spark, a little piece of hope that we can hold onto. I can’t help but imagine what our life will be like. We could have anything. </em> Anything. <em> We could go out west in our older age, when the eyes become too suspicious around here! Can you imagine it? I think you will be able to. Maybe I am getting way ahead of myself here, but we could bring down some of the other boys with us if they would come. Maybe even Sarah and Les and Ma and Pa would come with us.  </em></p>
<p>
  <em> It’s foolish thinking, but I am allowing myself to think it for this small moment. I cannot stay with you tonight, even on the night of our engagement, but I am going to be with you for the rest of my life, and that is what matters to me more than anything. I love you. You have brought so much meaning into my life, even in just the past year we have known each other for. I am ready, and I am so glad you asked for me to be yours, and you to be mine. I will cherish you until the sun sets on us, and even then I will keep loving you. My heart is yours. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Yours forever,  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> David  </em>
</p>
<p>Davey tucked the letter away, cracking a secret smile for himself, and he went to bed, lead from the pencil still smudged on the side of his hand.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!<br/>Let me know what you think!<br/>Come yell at me on tumblr @thetruthabouttheboy or my main @querxes</p></blockquote></div></div>
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